Hollyoaks' James Sutton praises Keith Rice

20 February 2014, 11:00am

James Sutton has praised ''brilliant'' co-star Keith Rice.

The 'Hollyoaks' stars are embroiled in a harrowing sexual abuse storyline and James, who plays John Paul McQueen, thinks youngster Keith (Finn O'Connor) is doing a great job handling the sensitive subject matter.

He gushed: ''Keith's brilliant. He's taking it so seriously. He's only a young lad and this is the first time he's had a really big storyline and he's taking it so seriously. He's been a delight, he really has.''

James' character is at the centre of a male rape storyline and he and Keith, along with a host of other actors, have worked diligently to ensure the plot is tackled with care.

He exclusively explained to BANG Showbiz: ''We talk a lot, Keith and I, and Charlie Wernham, who plays Robbie, and Lizzie Roper, who plays Sam, Steve Billington, who plays Danny ... that's my little clique at the moment. And also Diane Langton, who plays Nana McQueen. We all talk quite a lot about the scenes we're shooting, we always throw ideas around, and we tell the directors to make sure we don't leave anything to chance.

''We always make sure we're on the same page, which is really great to be part of a team like that where you're not afraid to suggest things to each other and help each other out, and we're very quick to tell each other when we've done something really good. It's really, really lovely.''